The kids are in school, and the house is quiet. With bins and shelves stuffed with fabric around her, Sally Ferebee begins to sew.

In these quiet hours, Ferebee is a crafter, taking scrap pieces of upholstery and turning them into purses. She is also a businesswoman, her boutique bag company, SewFew, steadily growing through word-of-mouth.

You might have seen her work at the Indie Craft Parade, where SewFew first debuted to the public in 2010. The pleated clutches that came in embossed leather and sunny florals were a crowd-pleasing hit, each bag chic, one-of-a-kind and, naturally, upcycled.

“It was just wonderful,” Ferebee says of the reception. “I think that probably helped me realize that I had something cool that people liked.”

The remnant fabrics come from samples furniture stores would normally throw away. She’s careful to use every square inch so nothing goes to waste, but the size also limits what kinds of styles are available.

Most SewFew purses are clutches, with pleated details or a traditional envelope style. The insides are always lined with a different fabric, for an unexpected pop. A favorite of mine is the purple bottom pleated clutch, made from a rich ikat pattern. Opening it reveals a muted vintage floral, thick and textured like corduroy. Another is a luxurious floral leather — almost a paisley — aptly called “Yummy Leather Pleated Bag.”

It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, Ferebee didn’t know how to sew, save for simple hand stitches. Then she saw all the beautiful samples going to waste at her parents’ furniture store, and a crafting streak was awoken. Borrowing a friend’s sewing machine, Ferebee taught herself through tutorials and a lot of trial and error.

“I was excited about it, so I kept trying. I did it over and over again,” she says with a laugh.

Those first tentative bags have evolved into what SewFew is now. At some point, Ferebee started to embellish some of the purses with antique brooches she picks up for an extra punch, but most of the fabrics are eye-catching enough to stand on their own.

She’s currently working on a tote bag and other new styles for summer. The business itself is Web-based, which Ferebee says she’d love to grow eventually. With two young children, she can only sew for a few hours a day. The weekends she saves for trunk or craft shows.

“I love telling my story, and I love letting people touch and feel the handbags and open them up,” Ferebee says.

More than a dozen styles are available on SewFew’s website, sewfew.com, and a Facebook page was created two months ago.

Ferebee jokes that she’s not a social media guru — maybe she should hire someone to do it and pay them in purses — so the business has mostly grown in fits and spurts. Someone might get a purse as a gift and mention SewFew to friends, who then might get Ferebee to make bags for their bridesmaids.

“It’s kind of grown like that. First you couldn’t buy on my website, but now you can,” she says. “It’s an evolving process for me.”